Woodworking blog entries tagged with 'arts and crafts desk'

With the desk frame finished, I move on to installing the drawers.-----Since I am using single undermount slides for the drawers, I installed glide tacks to keep the drawer from tipping. I use wire cutters to trim the tack to about 1/4” long, which makes them easier to install. -----I centered the slide in the drawer opening , and secured it with mounting screws. -----To adjust the drawer height properly, I add a hardwood strip between the drawer bottom and the slide. The hardwood s...

In part 4 of this series I pre-raised the grain, and applied the initial coloring with Transtint Brown Mohogany Dye. When the dye is wet it looks amazing, but quickly dries to a lifeless sheen. -----The drawer fronts were stained before assembly. After the glueup dried overnight, the drawers were lacquered. -----The desk was stained with Varathane Dark Walnut oil based stain. When wet the stain looked great, but it too dried to a grayish cast. Not to worry though, once the lacquer was a...

With the corbels installed, we can move on to the drawers. -----Here my son sands the drawer parts. -----I made the drawer parts 3-1/4” (the exact width of the drawer opening) to accommodate my dovetail jig. After the dovetails were milled I edge planed them to final size, being careful to remove an equal amount from both edges. -----The dado creates two sections to each drawer.-----The 3/4 extension undermount slides will only display the front drawer compartment. Releasing the fr...

This is where we left things last time…-----The desk is quite strong, however it looks pretty plain at this stage. The next step is to add 8 inside corbels, so I made a template routing jig. I like to use toggle clamps, because they double as handles when routing. Carpet tape also works, but for workpieces this small I prefer toggle clamps to keep my hands clear of the bit. -----After cutting the rough shape at the bandsaw, I trim the corbels to size at the router table. Notice how...

With the legs complete, I milled up some stock for the rails. All joints are deep mortise and tenons, except for the top drawer rail which is a lapped dovetail. -----Test fitting the lower drawer rail.-----The lower side stretchers feature through tenons. -----The upper drawer rail features lapped dovetail joints. With the same dado blade setup used for the other long rails, I cut the dovetail to 1/2” thick, and established the side shoulders. -----After laying out the lines for t...

Well after taking second place at the Portland Woodworking Show with the last project, a cherry trundle bed, it was time to start the next project. -----The current project is a small library desk for my son’s room. He helped in the design phase, choosing corbels over spindles for the sides of the desk. We also have a special white oak board with a bullet lodged in it. Caden decided he wanted to incorporate it into the desk. -----I am fortunate to have a stack of 400 b.f. of white...